Weekend Adventure

The week itself went by quickly. Working always seems to make the week go by fast. just Last Thursday my husband called me during my lunch.

Me: Hi, how is your day? Husband: It is good. I am going to go to Mount Rainer this weekend would you like to go with me? Me: I would love to! Thank s for inviting me. Husband: Ya, I thought that you would like to go.

Mt. Rainer out the office window

So begins our adventure. Back at the house we search for camping gear. Then off to work the next day to finish off the work week. When I got off the bus and made it home, the car was packed and my husband had even gone shopping for food. We jumped in the car to start our weekend adventure. (It also happens to be my husbands birthday this weekend.)

Skyscraper

My husband and I love taking photos so going to Mount Rainer was a wonderful opportunity to get some great shots. We made it to Crystal Mountain at 9:45pm, too late for the sunset but we had enough daylight to set up out tent, make some dinner and get some sleep before we woke up around 4:00am to pack up and shoot the sunrise.

Moon setting behind Mt. Rainier.

Sunrise at Mount Rainier. Technicolor brought to you by fires in Eastern Washington.

Lake Tipsoo at Sunrise.

After a successful morning shoot we ran off to find a new camping site in the park. Early morning was a good time to grab a site as people left to escape the weekend crowds at the mountain. We quickly set up our tent and drove up to the Sunrise Visitor Center to scout locations for other photo opportunities, find a cup of coffee and to make some breakfast. After a delicious breakfast sandwich we went on a little hike and then retired to the tent for a midday nap. Napping in the afternoon is perfect because everyone else is out on the mountain and the camp sites are quite and you have them all to your self. In the afternoon we checkout the direction of the setting sun, looked over the places that we scouted out that day for photos and made a plan for where to shoot sunset.

Upper Lake Tipsoo. Scouting expedition

That night (or early morning around 12:00am-1:00am) there was a full moon out. So that meant that we couldn’t shoot star trails so instead of staying up late we headed to sleep to wake up at 3:00am to shoot sunrise and hopefully the moon setting behind Mount Rainer.

Moon Setting behind Rainier. Near Sunrise Visitors Center.

The morning was cool with a slight breeze. The sky was clear and there were a few people out ready to shoot the sunrise to the east and some more closer to the mountain ready to capture the moment. We had chosen a spot just off the road between them both. We were ready and shooting by 4:00am. Here are a few shots from the morning.